Under the Umbrella
by chiliperrypepper
Summary: Drip, drop. The fresh scent of the pouring rain. Oddly normal, as so you might say. But for Hiroki this day is ANYTHING but normal. Inspired by 'Ai Ai Gasa' song by Tegomass.


**HELLO EVERYONE!** This is my first story published. ^^ Hope you will like it. REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. :)

Actually, this story was GREATLY influenced by a song. :) It's in Japanese, but it's really great~! :-bd

"AI AI GASA" by Tegomassu. ^^ I **LOVE** them.~~ 3(The song means Shared Umbrella) hehe.. ^^

**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own the song (also the lyrics in the story) mentioned, okay? I love Tegomass, and will do nothing to tarnish their name or blaah._

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"**Under the Umbrella"**

**by _MoonlightSonata22_**

_"The rain won't stop..." you look down  
I slanted the umbrella so your shoulders wouldn't get wet_

_You looked up at me and drew a little closer, right?  
You shiver a little as you hug my arm, still smiling_

_I will tell you my feelings properly today  
I love you (you) almost too much_

_Under the shared umbrella  
Still not innocently expressing my full sentiments  
So it won't be over  
The rain that is passing urges me on  
The rainy romance of two people becoming closer_

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_BEEEP!_ I hurriedly crossed the packed street just before the light turned green. Another day of school passed, and I was on my way home. I looked up, and the sky was turning dark. I pulled out my sturdy umbrella, just to get ready for bad weather. The cool breeze rushed across my face, caressing my cheeks. I continued walking, step by step.

_Drip, Drop._ It started drizzling. I tilted my head upwards, my eyes squinting. I saw large, grey clouds enveloping the whole visible sky. More water fell from the heavens, and I scrambled to open my small umbrella. Luckily enough, at the nick of time, I was able to shelter myself from the sudden downpour of precipitation. People started running under shielded areas; small puddles started forming, and the traffic began to build up. Ahh, thank God for the umbrella. Normally here in Tokyo, it didn't rain that much, but on this particular day, Kami-sama perhaps suddenly felt the need for increased moisture.

I still continued walking, and then I let my mind wander into the mazed wonderland of dreams (i.e., my mind). I sighed. How calm. How peaceful. Oh, how I love the rain. Nothing beats the fresh smell of the rain, and the cool-----"HIROKI!!!" A shrill but sweet voice interrupted the flow of my thoughts. I halted, and turned my head towards the source of the sudden noise. Then, my eyes grew wider; my breath hitched.

And there she was, the epitome of pure human perfection, running towards me. She stopped in her tracks, right in front of my feet. Her small, smooth hands cupped her knees, her head down, panting. I snapped out of my current state of daze, and I hurriedly put my umbrella over her, to somehow protect her already soaked body from the pouring rain. She stood up, and her face lightened up with a huge grin.

Her plump, rosy lips parted, and a soft voice filled my ears. "I was calling you, but you seemed too preoccupied to notice."

I searched my head for some decent things to say, but only a "Yeah, sorry," came out of my mouth. She giggled at my very 'descriptive' alibi, her hand covering her mouth to smother her soft laughter. Inside, I really felt like throwing up, because of all the butterflies flying freely in my stomach.

"Uhm, can I stay under your umbrella while we walk home? My house is just a few blocks away from yours, anyway.", she said shyly.

Startled, I replied, "Sure. Why not?" She flashed a big smile again, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"Thanks!" she said gratefully. The corner of my lips turned up into a grin.

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We began to saunter forward. My left hand was holding the umbrella, and my other hand was sitting snugly in my pocket. I just kept silent, because I knew if I would talk, nothing sensible would come out of my mouth. I was trying my very hardest to ignore the fact that the girl of my dreams was barely a few inches away from me, and the loud 'Oh, what a cute couple's that people were murmuring amongst themselves. I was looking down, pretending to avoid the puddles on the ground. She was looking around, obviously observing the wet surrounding. A moment of silence filled the air. She turned her head to face me.

She opened her mouth, and she broke the awkward silence by asking politely, "How are you doing in your classes?" I answered,

"I think I'm doing fine. You?"

"Yeah, me too." She said. Another pregnant pause echoed through my ears.

"So… I heard about your mother. I hope she'll feel better." I desperately tried to make small talk.

"Oh, that. Right. No, it's okay. She's getting well already. She's slowly recovering, but we're thankful also that it's nothing permanent. The doctors are saying she'll be out in a few weeks." She explained.

"Oh. That's good." I replied.

A sudden breeze of cold wind rushed around us. She shivered, and inched closer to me. I froze. My heart was thumping loudly, and blood rushed up to my face. She didn't seem to mind the intimacy, but I begged to differ. Every single time her hand brushed my skin unconsciously, it seemed like my heart would go on a thumping frenzy. Another chilly gust of wind encircled us, and she moved closer to me, trying to get as much body heat from me as she could. She suddenly grasped my hand, and then at that moment, time stopped.

When skin met with skin, it seemed like the whole world had stopped revolving, and that time was brought to a standstill. It was as if I could see nothing but us, and everything else was blurred besides us. It felt like we were in our own personal bubble of space, and that nothing could prevent that glorious moment from ending. We were just there, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, her hand clasping my own, the air electrifying around us. All too soon, she released her hand, and brought it near her mouth. She was trying to warm her hands using her breath. I ceased walking, pulled out my jacket, and I slung it over her shoulders. She seemed surprised at the action, but then she smiled at me again. Yes, truly, this was the best day of my life so far. We continued marching down the sidewalk in silence, but oddly, it wasn't awkward.

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"Oh Kami-sama, please help me." I pleaded to God in my mind.

A few minutes after the 'glorious moment', my subconscious was shouting loud and clear, "TELL HER YOU LOVE HER. CONFESS ALREADY."

My head was in an inner turmoil. The walk was supposed to last for only 25 minutes tops, but it already felt like eternity since the rain started pouring. It was close to drizzling now, but she didn't make any move to show that she would leave already. I looked at my watch, and I was stunned that barely 20 minutes had passed since I left school. I didn't know what to do. I found myself observing every inch of her. Her disheveled light brown hair was bouncing up and down her back in a low ponytail. Her bright, hazel eyes glittering with her normal optimism, and her pink, rosy cheeks flushed because of the cool breeze. My mind was screaming so loud, two sides arguing with each other. My subconscious side was ordering me to confess my love to her, right here, right now. The logical side of my brain was telling me that I obviously had no chance to be with her, even though I would confess. I was going insane, just by looking at her beauty. I just tried to act normally, and we continued strolling under the drizzling rain.

We were near our houses already, and the turmoil in my mind turned into a full-out war. A line from one of Shakespeare's works echoed in my mind, "To be or not to be, that is the question." Should I tell her already? Or should I wait for another chance? I realized then, that I loved her more than I could have ever imagined. I still couldn't tell her my feelings, but somehow, the drizzling rain urged me on. I continued arguing with myself, trying to choose whether or not I should tell her already. I didn't notice than the rain had come to an end. Sunlight spilled through the clouds. We were in front of her house already. She looked at the sky, and then she faced me.

"Thank you so much for everything, Hiroki." She said, with her trademark smile still present on her face. She turned around and moved forward to the door of her house, and she waved her hand goodbye. I lifted my hand to wave back, but before I knew it she was gone. As suddenly as she appeared, she was gone in a blink of an eye. My umbrella fell to the ground. I looked up, sunlight gently embraced my face. Perhaps, it wasn't meant to be.

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**A/N: Hey guys. :-h Hoped you liked it. :) As you noticed, I purposely never mentioned the name of the girl. ^^ **

**Anyway, please, R&R! :D**

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